In the ongoing crises, it is a challenge to all stakeholders working in the arts and culture, in politics and administration to adapt and help maintain the arts and their significance for all. But what kind of practice and funding profiles are needed at this point in time? Why do we do what we do, and what changes and new relationships between the arts and society, between (international) funding schemes and artistic practice have we noticed?

Stakeholders in the field of social culture from associations, funded organizations, independent artists and cultural workers, politics and administration came together. The programmatic focus was on the reflection and evaluation of NEUSTART KULTUR and the recommendations for action from the experiences of the last three years. The future funding needs for the independent cultural scene after the expiration of the special program were also a topic, as were the set-up of the administration and relevant topics for the future. A special focus of the congress was on internationality in cultural funding and looking beyond national borders, as represented by the bilateral partnership program „Cultural Bridge“ of the Fonds Soziokultur.

Participants were able to gain an insight into current topics and innovative methods of funded projects and institutions in workshops. In the Grand Beauty Salon, they were able to address the question of how we can create a society in which everyone can feel supported and cared for?

The knowledge we have gained about resilient and socially relevant cultural practice and the funding of the arts can form a potential basis for an innovative federal culture that stabilizes democracy through cultural participation and co-creation.